Running at speeds of up to 320 km/h (200 mph), the shinkansen are Japan's reliable high-speed bullet trains, operated by Japan Railways (JR). The shinkansen, or "new trunkline", began with the Tokaido Shinkansen (515.4 km, 320.3 mi) in 1964. As of 2018, the network connects Japan's main islands of Honshu, Kyushu and Hokkaido for 2764.6 kilometers (1717.8 miles) with maximum speeds of 240–320 km/h (150–200 mph). The shinkansen is famous for efficiency, punctuality (often to the second), comfort (relatively silent cars with spacious, always forward facing seats), and safety (no fatal accidents in its history). The Japan Rail Pass (JR Pass) makes the shinkansen a great travel value for foreign tourists in combination with Japan's standard rail network (much cheaper than what Japanese residents pay). The original Tokaido Shinkansen, connecting Japan’s three largest cities of Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, is one of the world's busiest high-speed rail lines. At peak times, the line carries up to thirteen trains per hour in each direction with sixteen cars each (1323-seat capacity plus standing passengers) with a minimum headway of three minutes between trains. In the one-year period preceding March 2017, it carried 159 million passengers.
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